. 



BRITISH BIRDS' NESTS. 59 



others have been of opinion that even a larger 

 number may be laid, there is, so far as I know, 

 no reliable evidence to support either supposition. 

 The egg of the Cuckoo is very small in size com- 

 pared with its layer, remarkably heavy and thick 

 in the shell, and varies very much in coloration, but, 

 strangely enough, often harmonises closely with 

 those of the^bird in whose nest it is deposited. It 

 is usually reddish-grey, mottled and spotted closely, 

 with darker markings of the same colour, or pale 

 greyish-green, marked with spots of the same colour. 

 Size about .87 by .75 in. (See Plate V.) 



Time. April, May, and June. 



Remarks. Migratory, arriving in April and leav- 

 ing in July, the young ones in August and Sep- 

 tember. Notes : song, cuckoo, a bubbling laugh- 

 like note, a churring one, and several others, when 

 the bird is heard at very close quarters, and 

 especially so whilst it is angry. Notes of female 

 resemble bubbling chatter of a dabchick, Local 

 and other names : Gowk, Common Cuckoo. The 

 young Cuckoo turns out all the eggs or chicks 

 that may be in the nest in which it is hatched, an 

 operation I witnessed on one occasion. 



YOUNG CUCKOO AND TREE PIPIT FOSTER-MOTHER. 



